To many he is a hero - he even has the Order of Australia to prove it - but despite saving dozens of lives after the Bali bombing eight years ago, Doctor Bill McNeil has questioned his role.

"Since that time unmedicated I relive in vivid detail each moment of that night all my waking hours," he said.

"In sleep, I suffer nightmares - no matter how terrible, they can never approximate the reality of my experience.

"Sometimes I wretch in the gutter before work and I can't drive past a hospital or look at a fire and I go months where I can't work at all."

Since the attacks, the New South Wales doctor has been unable to work full-time because of post traumatic stress.

Dr McNeil had been on holidays in Bali when the bombs went off on October 12, 2002, and worked through the night saving lives.

His voice faltered as he told the hundreds gathered in Sydney to mark the eighth anniversary that he usually only spoke about the events to his psychiatrist.

"I reached a very low point early on this year where I almost began to feel that I had regretted what I had done, simply because I was unable to look after my family... thankfully I've come through that," he said.

"The time I have missed from work through my suffering has resulted in a lot of financial hardship.

"I haven't had any assistance from my employer NSW Health, and now when I have students who ask me what they should do when they meet with a disaster I really don't know what I should say.

"In fact, the AMA [Australian Medical Association] has recommended that I sue the NSW Government for not helping me out with workers compensation, frankly I would rather play with my kids and go surfing."

After the address, Dr McNeil helped NSW Premier Kristina Keneally unveil a memorial to the 43 NSW victims of the bombing.

It sits just a few metres away from the memorial to all 88 Australians who were killed in the attacks on the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar in Kuta.

Moscow's words and actions — including the alleged poisoning of a former spy — are not the results of random aggression but rather fall into distinct patterns that can help us anticipate Russia's next moves under Vladimir Putin.